Whenever NFL Training Camp comes around, most people look forward to seeing which team is on HBO’s Hard Knocks, which players will be followed as they try to make the team, and what the storylines are going to end up being.
The show’s director, Shannon Furman, was a guest on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast earlier this week. He provided some of those answers.
In order to determine which players the show ends up featuring, they do tend to look at a player’s social media to see how interesting they are, but that isn’t all that factors into deciding who gets how much airtime.
“We have the big meeting before we come to camp. We research everyone on the team. We stalk Instagrams. We figure out kind of what everyone is interested in off-the-field, their background on-the-field. We have guys who we’re targeting, but then a lot ends up being based on what happens in games. We do go into it with a good idea of who we want to feature and the games end up narrowing that down for us.”
It is not easy for the Hard Knocks production team to figure out how to condense all of the footage they get into one-hour episodes each week. In fact, it was tougher for them this year because there was a lot of time between training camp beginning and the Dallas Cowboys first preseason game, according to Furman.
“We usually say we shoot about 400 hours for every hour that is on TV,” Furman says. “Liev [Schreiber] narrates it at 9 AM EST, the day that the show airs. We usually say our deadline is Saturday night at 10 PM ET, unless it is national news, then we have to get it in. You are just in constant communication with the people at home, letting them know what is happening.”
Contrary to what some might think, there aren’t cameras and microphones in every room at training camp. Furman mentioned that they do have to decide which rooms to have cameras and mics in.
When it comes to cut day, Furman says even if it is good television, that doesn’t mean the Hard Knocks crew looks forward to it.
“A moment like that, we like to work with the players and the team on stuff like that. We hate it just as much as they do. We become friends with everyone on this show.”
This year, the Dallas Cowboys are the featured team on Hard Knocks for the third time. You can catch new episodes every Tuesday night at 10 PM ET on HBO.
Ricky Keeler is a reporter for BSM with a primary focus on sports media podcasts and national personalities. He is also an active podcaster with an interest in pursuing a career in sports media. You can find him on Twitter @Rickinator555 or reach him by email at RickJKeeler@gmail.com.
Gov. Abbot brought up the fact that Chicago has a gun violence problem even though gun laws in the city are among the strictest in the country.
Parkins took issue with the Texas governor trying to score political points by dunking on Chicago in a moment of tragedy.
“You don’t care about Chicago, you are using Chicago as a red herring, as a slur,” Parkins said. “And if we want to talk about Chicago, we can talk about Chicago with facts…What about Chicago? Kiss my ass, Greg Abbot. I can’t stand it, man. It’s so insulting.”
What about Chicago is often a talking point from one side of the gun control issue that suggests despite having such tough laws on firearm ownership, thousands of people each year in the city end up shooting victims. Therefore gun control laws don’t work to prevent mass shootings.
Parkins used that phrase for good last year, putting on the What About Chicago Radiothon. The station fundraiser in 2021 raised more that $660,000 for Athletes for Justice and Austin Harvest.
Parkins explained Wednesday that the problems in the Windy City are multi-faceted. Yes, gun violence issues exist, but Parkins said “it is a problem that many, many, many, many people care deeply about and are trying to solve, but it’s a separate problem.”
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Mike Breen and Eric Reid have history, and it’s a good history.
Breen was in Miami for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which he called for ESPN/ABC. Talking to Jonathan Zaslow on WQAM in Miami on Wednesday, Breen said he didn’t like being called the voice of the NBA because there are so many other great broadcasters, like Reid, out there.
“I’m just one of the voices of the NBA. For example, for Miami Heat fans, there’s only one voice of the NBA, and that’s my buddy Eric Reid,” Breen said. “We’re all part of a great fraternity and all thrilled to be calling games. That’s for sure.”
Reid has been part of the Miami Heat radio crew since the team’s inaugural season. He took over as the play-by-play voice of the team’s radio call in 1991.
Zaslow, who has handled studio duties on the Heat’s radio call since 2010, told Breen that Reid had told him stories about the playoff series the Heat and the New York Knicks had back in the day. He said he remembered things getting intense with Reid and Breen on the sidelines at the time.
“Because the Knicks and the Heat used to fight, Eric and I had some nasty fights back in the day,” Breen joked.
Mike Breen will call the NBA Finals for ESPN and ABC. Breen was named Outstanding Personality/Play-By-Play at the Sports Emmys this week as well.
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Truth Broadcasting isn’t sticking to sports. WSJS, which originates from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and also serves Greensboro, is transitioning from all sports talk to a mix of conservative talk and sports.
“While WSJS enjoyed providing the Piedmont Triad with a 24/7 sports format, so much was lost with our connection to the Triad community with little to no live and local talk, news features, guest host hours, award-winning talk shows and more. Now, we’ve remedied that. Just wait until you hear it!” Market Manager Tom Hamilton said in a press release.
Afternoon host Josh Graham will remain on staff. His show The Drive will continue to air from 3 until 6 pm. Nights will be filled by the Rich Eisen Show, followed by programming from CBS Sports Network. The station will also continue to carry local high school play-by-play and the Duke Blue Devils.
The station will add a local morning show featuring Jeffrey Griffin. Triad Today will air from 7-10 AM. WSJS will also feature syndicated shows from Brian Kilmeade, Todd Starnes and Charlie Kirk.
WSJS can be heard on 600 AM as well as four translators. The station’s new weekday lineup goes into effect on June 6. It is listed in full below.
5 AM-6 AM – First Light
6 AM-7 AM – America In The Morning
7 AM-10 AM – Triad Today With Jeffrey Griffin (9 AM-10 AM – Expert Hour) 10 AM-12 NOON – The Brian Kilmeade Show
